bdrmm – I Don’t Know review

That’s the thing about expectations – if you don’t really have any, it’s very hard to undershoot them. bdrmm started as a very lo-fi project for singer/guitarist Ryan Smith, who after putting some tracks together on his phone was forced into choosing the name at the last minute before sending them into a local radio station.

Nobody was more surprised than him when some of the material got national exposure, a feat leading to the eventual recruitment of his brother Jordan (bass, and now synths), Joe Vickers (guitar) and Conor Murray (drums). Continuing the pattern, the quartet’s shoegaze heavy debut Bedroom was a word of mouth phenomenon, earning them a support slot with heroes Mogwai and a show at the 10,000 capacity Alexandra Palace.

Far from pinching themselves the foursome rebuffed some major label interest before deciding that it’s follow up I Don’t Know would step off into several new directions. Given space, new influences like Steve Reich and Boards of Canada came to the fore, the ecstatic opener Alps belying any thoughts of staring at their FX-pedals, whilst for those who need anchoring It’s Just A Bit of Blood and Pulling Stitches drink deep from the wells of Radiohead and My Bloody Valentine respectively.

It’s the closer A Final Moment however that shows bdrmm’s new creative headspace is one where sounds and ideas can coalesce, with electrifying consequences. At eight minutes plus and with the addition of strings the shift of trajectory is obvious, a new template that I Don’t Know only just begins to explore. “We’d made the guitar record.” Ryan has said in explanation “So, we were thinking, ‘What else can we do?'” To go well beyond people’s expectations – again – it seems is the emphatic answer.

You an read a full review here.